Search Help

How does this work?
There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.

Search Results

Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones
Date: 1/1/1965Call Number: CE 119Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
Discussion on the "Negro Identity" - writers discuss social divisions within the Black community and how these difference are being overcome in the wake of artistic rebellion. Includes separate interview with Bontemps on the emergence of Negroes in mainstream entertainment and communications media.
Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones - Part 1 Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones - Part 1
Date: 1/1/1965Call Number: CE 120Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
Discussion on the "Negro Identity" - writers discuss social divisions within the Black community and how these difference are being overcome in the wake of artistic rebellion.
Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones - Part 2 and 3 Interview - Horace Cayton, Arna Bontemps, and LeRoi Jones - Part 2 and 3
Date: 1/1/1965Call Number: CE 121Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
Discussion on the "Negro Identity" - writers discuss social divisions within the Black community and how these difference are being overcome in the wake of artistic rebellion.
Black Writers - Horace Cayton, LeRoi Jones, and Ossie Davis Black Writers - Horace Cayton, LeRoi Jones, and Ossie Davis
Date: 1/1/1967Call Number: CE 124Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
Interviews with Horace Cayton, LeRoi Jones, and Ossie Davis discussing the conditions of Blacks in relation to white power, liberalism, socialism and war. Also distinction between violent and nonviolent approaches to organizing, and the impact of Black writers on social movements.
LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 1 LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 1
Date: 9/20/1964Call Number: CE 127Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
History of Negro writers and how they had to emerge from "below the veil of anxious politeness" that was set in place by monied white audiences to reveal the true "Black experience" in America. Includes references to most influential Black artists - from jazz musicians to writers. LeRoi Jones reads from article "LeRoi Jones Speaking."
LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 2 LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 2
Date: 9/20/1964Call Number: CE 128Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
History of Black writers and how they had to emerge from "below the veil of anxious politeness" that was set in place by monied white audiences to reveal the true "Black experience" in America. Includes references to most influential Negro artists - from jazz musicians to writers. LeRoi Jones reads from article "LeRoi Jones Speaking."
LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 3 LeRoi Jones on Black Writers: Tell It Like It Is - Part 3
Date: 9/20/1964Call Number: CE 129Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
History of Black writers and how they had to emerge from "below the veil of anxious politeness" that was set in place by monied white audiences to reveal the true "Black experience" in America. Includes references to most influential Negro artists - from jazz musicians to writers. LeRoi Jones reads from article "LeRoi Jones Speaking."
LeRoi Jones Reading of Poems LeRoi Jones Reading of Poems
Date: 12/20/1964Call Number: CE 130Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
LeRoi Jones reading poems from his book "The Dead Lecturer". Includes mention of the influence Allen Ginsberg had on Jones' work.
Kenneth Rexroth, Saunders Redding, Harvey Swados, and LeRoi Jones Kenneth Rexroth, Saunders Redding, Harvey Swados, and LeRoi Jones
Date: 12/20/1964Call Number: CE 133Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
About tensions and poor communication between different generations of Black writers, how disadvantaged subcultures (like Blacks) have trouble expressing themselves to conventional white audiences.
Horace Cayton, Ossie Davis, LeRoi Jones Horace Cayton, Ossie Davis, LeRoi Jones
Date: 8/9/1964Call Number: CE 137Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Collection
About the tremendous racial confrontations Blacks need to go through to establish positions of power. Davis speaks about literature as communication to elevate the Black community. Jones speaks about Black middle class writers imitating white writers to join the middle class.